middleofsomewhere | So Familiar a Gleam: Ongoing

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So Familiar a Gleam: Ongoing

JUST Ā̸̛͇̹̈́͌͐͛̐̋͝Ǹ̵̠͍̲̘͈̮͈̺͔̤͙̳̓̔͑͌̒̓̃́̄̚͘Ớ̶̻̱̄̓͆͂̈́̄̔͋͌̽̀̕͘T̵͙͍͓̻̩͙̻͙̹͎̫̘͇̱̈́̌̓͝ͅH̶̭̻͇̰͈̯̦̹̦̗͐̒́Ẽ̵̡̡̘̳͉͇͚̼̗̣̩͎̞̏͒̈́̏͂̈͝Ř̴̠͋̐͘ NORMAL DAY

"Jinnjar citizens. Unfortunately, all train travel will be closed due to issues on the lines. Members of the Voidtrecker Express have been located around the city, and are deploying trickery to agitate and confuse us. We ask any volunteers at this time to help us locate any suspicious objects and people, and to restrain them.

For the f̴̘̯̰̦̺͖̔͌̋̃ũ̴̢̖̦͙̩̼̺̪͚͍̥͈̜̝͋̌̒̊̚ẗ̶̪̺͕̤̯̞̤͓̝́̑̄̎̊̕future of our city!"

A TL;DR notes version of days/prompts: (click to show)

EVENT BASICS:

DAYS 5 & 6:

By now, some people have broken out of their fake lives while some haven't. Tension is rising in the city as people are led to believe this is by the Voidtreckers, which some will believe due to illusions and messing with one's heads is believed to be one of their many tactics.
Some oddities are occurring with travel, and glimpses of how the city is made beginning to show. The streams of colour - the void - are getting brighter. Electronics are not working well. Some monster sightings are seen, but not to a large degree.
The prompts here are light to give characters and players time to ICly coordinate, as Voidtreckers are being more actively hunted. Some faces are known. You know who you are, troublemakers.

DAYS 7 & 8:

The world is really starting to go a bit wild now, with more things disappearing, animals on the loose and more monster sightings.
By the end of day eight most people have realised the truth though those who are very susceptible to mind control or very stubbornly wanting to believe in this world will still be trapped, believing this is the Voidtreckers doing.
There are monsters to fight, people to keep calm and a plan to make.

[ HOME SWEET...HOME? ] By day 5, the people of Jinnjar are in a state of anxiety more than before. There's those who realise they're not a part of this world, never were, while there's those who still cling onto this life. Health services say that the source of confusion comes from the colour trails that are brighter than ever in the sky, while the D-Force/Heroes have it confirmed - internally and publicly - that there are Voidtreckers amongst them.

The media shows pictures of potential suspects, some Voidtreckers, some not; a man with the same face as two others, one who made a show by creating ice in the middle of the street. Your face may be shown, but don't worry - they're asking people not to play vigilante.

That'll surely keep people behaved.

[ TRAVEL REVIEW. ] As if it couldn't get more frustrating, most of the trains are down. Air taxis are still available for short journeys, yet some people have the bizarre occurrence where they end up in the wrong spot, and even remember going in this wrong direction...but never say anything about it. Those using the tele-pads will also find themselves not always arriving where they should, or worse, suffering intense headaches, swirling colours behind their eyes, their thoughts jumbled for as long as ten minutes before it passes.

You might want to walk.

[ MAKING DO. ] Still, with all the chaos, many are trying to live. You have a life here, no matter what some other force is trying to make you believe,

For our HEROES: The cinema has rethought its showings due to the worrying happenings of the last few days. Clearly a boost in morale is needed and so they have pulled out some of the great films of the past. Action films that show heroes beating the bad guys, disaster films where the good guys beat the aliens, stop the natural disaster or thwart the secret agency looking to take down civilisation from the inside, at the last minute. Even the childrens films have taken on a pro-hero and triumphant air.

It's not quite distraction though, how could it be when every film has a warning before and after. REMEMBER TO REPORT ALL SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY TO DFORCE and WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE SHOW. REMEMBER TO WATCH YOUR SURROUNDINGS AS CAREFULLY AS YOU DID THE SCREEN.
Fun Park: It's for the kids, but one of the largest arcade parks has a special discount on everything to anyone who come visit. It's even advertised across the news: For half the price, get amazing fun and even better food! Kids younger than eight or from the orphanages get free access everywhere!

It's time not to think too hard, and to ignore the trouble! Play laser tag, racing cars or get a high score on the dance mat!
Encroaching Dangers: Something new is beginning to happen, as the city continues to shift. It starts at night, those that stay out past when the streets go quiet might see a shadow, might hear a growl.

Rumours and reports start to spread about monsters on the street.

DAY SIX: HELP FROM INSIDE

[ AID. ] DIAGNET is full of videos but one that has started doing the rounds is of a small droid and a cat. It's not hard to see why it has gone viral, the cat and cleaning droid are chasing each other around an apartment, caught on a home security footage. The cat tries to catch the droid but every time it gets close the droid turns to chase it and the cat runs away. It has been uploaded with stirring orchestral music, which adds to the madness.

But... For those Voidtreckers who have already regained their memories that little droid seems familiar indeed. As do the sounds that punctuate the music.

beep beep beep boop | boop

boop boop beep | boop boop boop

boop boop | boop boop boop | boop boop boop | boop beep | boop beep beep | beep beep boop | beep beep beep | boop

boop beep boop beep | beep boop | beep beep boop beep | beep

boop boop boop | beep boop beep | boop beep beepp | beep | beep boop beep

boop beep | beep beep boop | boop | beep boop beep | beep beep | boop | beep | beep boop

Of course it might not be anything, just weird droid sounds that haven't been fully edited out of the video.

[ MOONDUST CAFÉ. ] It might be that they figured out the message or, it might be that a friend is dragging them to the cafe. But for those that make their way there, they will find the Moondust Cafe is a bustling cafe on the edge of a park, near local transport links.

For those that say the right words, a slightly bored looking teenager manning the counter waves them to a side door. "Best sit downstairs, service will be quicker."

Downstairs has a fair number of tables and booths and is lit by coloured lighting making everything look a little obscure. There's soft music playing, not loud enough to make it impossible to hear each other but enough to make it a little harder for evesdroppers.

Mingle, discuss. This is probably the closest to a safe space there is.

[ LOST & LOST. ] You may have spotted it already - that is, spotted what's missing. There's been the pets, the birds in the sky, a pen or apple or wrench from the garage. But now, with every single bad thing going on, more is starting to disappear. Machines stop working, from air conditioning, freezers, your Jinnjar MP3 player, to TVs and more.

And in some business buildings, even entire rooms are gone, their floors empty of more than the door you opened to find this out. Even the heroes seem worried and they quickly clear any affected areas, chasing away bystanders and sealing off whole wings of office blocks.

None of them have answers though, except that this must be the Voidtreckers doing. After all who else but that group could have power enough to do such damage?

DAY SEVEN & EIGHT: UNRAVELLING

[ OVEREXPOSURE. ] Everything is starting to escalate. The headaches are getting regular the more you're outside, buildings are starting to go missing around the outskirts. People see parts of the city flickering, and when they reach certain sections of the city, they find they can't go beyond it.

Life tries to go on, but as more areas of the city begin to be sealed off and considered dangerous, even those who are most stubborn about pretending everything is normal can see that is is not.

[ LET LOOSE. ] The breaking down of the city has caused a lot of chaos, but one of the biggest problems are that parts of the zoo have vanished. Walls, fences, enclosure roofs. Meaning that the animals inside are no longer confined and are now prowling the city streets. Real birds now fill the sky that the fakes left empty.

And they aren't all that's there. Twisted creatures are becoming more common on the streets of Diagad. Creatures that look almost like animals but warp and twist between them, one moment a bear the next it has horns and then it is a wolf. But no matter how they look those claws and teeth are bad news for everyone.

[ CRUMBLING, CRUMBLING. ] By day eight whole streets are disappearing. homes, houses. people need to be moved in closer around the congress sector. Colours crackle through the sky like lightning and the world shakes often.

It's not just the infrastructure but the memories of those in the city. Dreams have come realities and all but the most stubborn have begun to realise that this world is not their own. They are from another place. What is going on? Why are they in this city? Who are these people who are their 'family'?

Confusion and anger are growing in the streets and it is perhaps time for the Voidtreckers to come out of the shadows.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Fundamentally, much of what I said concerning my morals and values were things that I am in keeping with, regardless of the illusion, but any affection you received from me..." there's a shake to his head, because he's... not capable of that, nor should she want that from someone like himself. There is little he has to offer anyone's life, too many stains on his hands, too many misdeeds.

"But... Caleb is a good man, should you want for an ally and earn him as one, few others would be as stalwart as him," there's complete sincerity in his words. He knows no one better than Caleb, the Nein, should she want good people she need not look further.

That made sense. If she could still hold that the sentiments were true within a false reality, then perhaps she could hold onto a little sliver of hope tho the true nature of Caleb and Essek. Though their relationship with each other may have been a lie, who they were did not appear to be fake.

"One more question." Just one more? Well... perhaps, perhaps not, but she wanted to hold herself to that for now.

"Who are you to each other, really?"

... Of all questions, he was not expecting that one. He pauses and looks at Essek before looking back at Eight, a slight edge of panic on his features.

"I... w-well. We are... part of the same group. We are - it's a very complicated answer. Friends and allies, who came from opposite sides of a conflict. We are both... eh. It's... what I said that night was largely true. We are both people who fucked up everything badly and are trying to be better than we were."

That's not an answer, and he knows it's not. "... To be perfectly honest, I think we are both still figuring out exactly what we are besides 'friends'."

Essek has to actively fight the urge to hide his face, but the more Caleb talks, the more he can't fight that urge anymore and finds himself burying his face in his hands. He... feels like Caleb exposed him a little, but even more than that he cannot even start to comprehend the final statement the man makes. After all, he can't put himself into a position of hoping for something he-... He's not good enough, too many wrongs, too much blood. It all runs too deep, nothing he will ever do is safe.

Shaking his head, he removes his hands from his face.

"I--... That sounds more convoluted than it is. We're from the same home world, we're allies and... friends. Though, aspects are complicated between Caleb and his group in regards to myself... there's much we are still navigating and figuring out," Essek keeps composed, unable to look at the other man knowing it will crack it.

That was not what she was expecting at all. What she was expecting was for them to be known to one another and to be collaborating behind her back to maintain the ruse. But, no, they weren't... quite there yet, were they? Oh, they certainly knew each other, and if there was any indication they had strong feelings for one another but...

Just like my feelings for Nory...

She raises her hand to stifle a giggle... and... mostly succeeded. Did she... needed to see that? A little moment of vulnerability that was indisputably not part of the simulation? Perhaps, perhaps not... either way, her expression softens. "...so... you know of each other and... didn't mind this." Her eyes swirl around the house. How foreign and strange it seemed thinking that something so familiar had no real connection to her. "And... I am of no real relation to either of you. A stranger..." That hurt the most, but each time she said it the sorrow hurt a little less. "...but you didn't mind me..." Ah, no, that was already too much to say. Forget she said anything.

"... That's correct. You're welcome to be here, to be safe." He looks at Essek and then back at her. "None of us are kicking the others out. We have as much right to be here as any of the others."

There's really no other way to say it - there's no reason for any of them to leave.

Essek nods when Caleb looks at him and pointedly ignores the stifled giggle from Mimi. He didn't want to know what she thought of all that, but regardless he agrees with Caleb. She was of course welcome and no one had to leave.

"We don't mind you at all, this house is as much yours as it is ours," his eyes flit over her, trying to determine if she's still in the illusion. Still, he doesn't know her well enough to know if she is actually free of it or not. "If you still feel yourself in the grasp of the illusion, I.. well, I have magic capabilities that might weaken it enough for you to break from it completely."

Mimi nodded, though she was hoping for some confirmation that they didn't mind that she was their daughter. Or, perhaps that was a sign of the illusion? She'd... have to tread carefully...

"I don't know..." She shook her head. "It is hard for me to say... I don't know what is real and what isn't. To... to me..." She closed her eyes. "...I still feel like you are my dads. I... want to trust you."

She had gotten this far on that alone, but perhaps that trust was a part of the illusion as well? Where did the fiction end and reality begin?

"... Take the time that you need. Just know that we are here to help you should you want it." He smiles a little awkwardly at her. "We are not your parents, but we... we will not abandon a teammate. And the entire train is a team, like it or not."

"Both of us are capable of magic that may help you break the illusion, should you want it, the choice is yours so you need only ask," Essek smiles at her, something polite and patient.

"But he's right, you have an ally in us if you want it," they couldn't be her parents. Perhaps Caleb had the capacity, Essek wasn't sure, but he knew himself well enough to know he did not.

Mimi nodded. She trusted them, and that disquieted her.

"I... trust you both..." She frowned. "But I don't know if I trust you for real."

She gave them a knowing, considerate stare. She worried that... she wouldn't feel the same way after the illusion was gone, but it had to be done.

"I want to trust you for real."

"... Trust is difficult. We... both know that. And it seems like you also know that. But... we can work together to build that trust."

He can't force it, and he doesn't want to force it. That way only leads to broken trust.

"I would like to trust you, too."

"Trust may come, with time and effort, on all our parts," and Essek knows, trust is incredibly difficult, especially when there is so many falsehoods afoot.

But he hears what she's saying, what she means and decides that doing this close up, instead would be less frightening than from afar, less impersonal. So, he dropped his float as he stepped from where he was seated and approached Mimi, his movements slow and unerring in their grace, even more so than they were in the illusion. He drops to a knee before her, giving her the higher vantage so she feels safe.

"It was a nice illusion, while it lasted, Ne'enuvar," he says it quietly enough that Caleb might not hear it, but then holds his hand out for her. "It won't hurt, it will be a faint brush of a warm wind that should remove what fog remains."

He holds out his hand for her to take. She can still back out, there's no expectation on his face, this is still her choice, but if she takes his hand, he will perform the spell.

Edited 2021-07-21 13:29 (UTC)

She doesn't hesitate. Her heart is full of love and trust... and the fact that she can't trust it right now makes those feelings hurt all the more. She hated this feeling. The doubt. She's scared, certainly: her fathers were lost just a moment ago, but if she's going to truly to trust herself she needed to do this. The decision was an easy one.

As she reaches for Essek's hand, she gives them both a soft smile. She wasn't sure who she was going to be... but it wasn't going to be the girl they knew her as. Not completely. "...it was nice to be your daughter. You both are... very kind." Her lips tremble and her eyes begin to glisten. "...I hope... we can still be friends." She had one thing more to say, but held her tong. The last part, how she truly loved them both, was a feeling better left unsaid lest the "her" that comes after didn't feel the same way. She didn't want them to feel that loss if things went poorly.

"I... thank you." Hearing something like that is... so rare, it's still unexpected. As for the nickname... Essek gets a slight side-eye. He's heard that word before around Rosohna, and while he doesn't have the direct translation he knows the context well enough.

He'll have to ask later.

His attention refocuses to Mimi, watching her face quietly. He has to know how this is going to turn out. Is she going to hate them? He's not sure.

Essek gives her a smile as he takes her hand gently, luckily unable to see the side-eye and the awkwardness he would feel if he had seen it. For now, he uses his free hand to flick through graceful gestures, his hand lighting up with a powerful purple and gray energy, muttering a strange phrase that allows the spell to fully take form. It releases around her like starlight, at first cold, then it warms as it catches on the illusory magics, swirling like a wind kicking up as it tries to break and dispel the illusions holding her.

The magics dissipate and fade. Essek let's go of her hand and pulls back from her, giving her space and catch her bearings.

Eight could feel the haze leave and a clarity of thought come to her. She feels like she's woken up from a waking dream, and is caught up in the moment of seeing a room that was not really hers but given to her, with two faces that she did not really know but knew. Her eyes turn to reclaim her bearings, only to lose her footing for a second before she catches herself.

She raises her hand to her head as she reorients herself. It was a lot. There was a lot of things she said and did that... feels foreign and embarrassing to her. But most of all she is overwhelmed with a feeling of shame that she put both Caleb and Essek to care for her when they did not have to.

When he finally speaks her voice is quiet and somber. "Thank you, Essek. ...I would like some time to be alone right now." She had a lot that she had to sort through, and didn't want to have them worry for her.

He doesn't speak, letting them have their moment. When it's clear it's done and she pulls back, he puts a hand on Essek's shoulder and squeezes it briefly.

"Of course. Take all the time you need. We'll be around. Just... know that we will still support you as we can."

He's not planning on leaving any time soon, anyway.

Edited 2021-07-22 02:21 (UTC)

He gives her a nod, his expression more comfortably aloof once more. The mask was comfortable, he was getting used to not wearing it around the Nein, around Caleb and Beauregard, but Mimi was a stranger... it's easier.

Essek looks at Caleb, not minding the other's touch in the slightest, even welcoming it, before nodding again. "Yes, take your time, we should be around for a while yet." Reaching up, he gently touches Caleb's hand and gestures for them to leave, coming to a float before moving to do just that.

Eight shuffles to her room, the weight of each step getting heavier... but it is welcome and she feels free, if sadder for the experience. She has no answers for the two of them. Not yet. She needed time. Yet as she was moving to turn the corner she notices the two standing close together, providing their own support in their own way. Her eyebrows furrow for a moment, only to raise at her realization. Ah...

She rounds the corner, out of sight. Through the mess of everything, she just had one sentiment confirmed. Those two truly did care for one another. Perhaps even enough to be living they way they did over the past week someday. It was... a comforting thought, but one that she had no right to point out. The challenge of realizing that was theirs.

She hopes they do. They would make a cute couple. And knows from experience that they would make any children feel truly welcome.

Her heart ached a little as she closed the door behind her. It hurt, but she welcomed that too.

After all, it was real.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

So Familiar a Gleam: Ongoing

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